People Not Politicians accuses Hoskins of ‘strong-arming clerks’ in new lawsuit involving Congressional map

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri group behind the push to put a new Congressional map on the ballot has filed another lawsuit involving the mid-decade redistricting efforts.

People Not Politicians filed a lawsuit on Monday in Cole County that demands for Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to decide whether or not the petition to put the map on the ballot for voters is sufficient or not. It also asks that the House bill passed to approve the map be declared illegal.

The group had held a rally on Friday in Jefferson City that demanded the certification to take place.

“Plaintiff von Glahn has an absolute statutory right to challenge Defendant Hoskins’ determination as to the sufficiency of the Referendum but can do so only once Secretary Hoskins has issued the required certificate. § 116.200.1, RSMo,” the lawsuit says.

PNP accused Hoskins and Attorney General Catherine Hanaway of “strong-arming” county clerks following a back-and-forth that occurred last week after Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon wrote a letter stating that she was not able to redraw district lines within the county because the certification process was “not finally determined.”

That came after a state Supreme Court ruling determined submitting a referendum petition did not automatically suspend the bill that created the new map. Hoskins responded to Lennon in a press release indicating the new map would be in effect during the August primary.

Lennon had rebutted Hoskins’ claim that same day, claiming his office had “not made the necessary updates to the statewide voter registration system to let any clerk update their precincts to reflect the new maps.”

That led to Missouri state Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Cass County) to filing a grievance on the debate floor last week, and eventually asked for Attorney General Catherine Hanaway to take action.  

“The Supreme Court of Missouri made it clear there was one path needed to be able to conduct an election that all Missourians can be confident in. We need to take that path,” Richard von Glahn, Executive Director of People Not Politicians said in a Monday press release. “There are more than enough signatures, verified by election authorities, to qualify the referendum. In refusing to admit what is plain to see, Secretary Hoskins is risking conducting an invalid election, a grave injustice to all Missourians, regardless of political party. He is ignoring the pleas of countless county clerks, who only wish to conduct elections their voters can have confidence in. Too much is at stake, the games must stop.”